Administrator madd-hatter Posted April 14, 2012 Administrator Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 This time I'm looking to assemble a desktop for one of my friend's mothers. I'm unaware of the budget at this moment but I assume it's well under $1000, probably closer to the $300-$700 range, but I'm not sure. I've been reading about AMD's newer "APU" processor chips that have built-in GPU's. I like what I've been reading, they seem to have numerous benefits, and I'm thinking about starting there. High-end gaming isn't likely to be a priority and I'm going to focus on web and flash performance, with additional benefits. I need to speak with her more about it to get a good idea of the budget and the focus but these are my initial thoughts: Casing and cooling: Case: She'll choose a mid-sized ATX or smaller case Power Supply: Heatsick/Fan: optional mobo & components: Motherboard: ASUS F1A75-M Pro. Micro ATX, FM1 socket. HDMI, DVI, and VGA ports onboard. Processor: AMD's A8-3870K APU chip. Quad-core 3.0GHz with Radeon HD 6550. FM1 socket. GFX Card: Optional Radeon HD 6xxx future upgrade RAM: HDD, SSD: SSD: Undecided HDD: Undecided Drive Bays: CD/DVD: ASUS CD/DVD drive With my current thought's, the mobo, CPU, GPU, and DVD drive are covered for $250, with the bonus of a lifetime registered Malwarebytes account. Leaving just the case, power supply, ram, and storage to be decided and possibly a Radeon HD 6xxx card for some GPU crossfire performance boost. Her son should be able to acquire Win 7 pro for free from his alma mater. Any thoughts, ideas, or shared experience is welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooncaller Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 8 GB of any RAM (GSkill, Corsair, Mushkin) is gonna run around $30. I would encourage the lowest end of the PC Power and Cooling supplies (white, modular series) or another good one in the 400W range with good reviews and a solid warranty. I'd spend a bit more for a WD Black Edition drive, not for the performance, but for the warranty, or spend less, but set her up with automatic backup, possibly even a WD Live drive, for network, or any external that will auto backup for her... SSD is so not worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator madd-hatter Posted April 14, 2012 Author Administrator Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 8 GB of any RAM (GSkill, Corsair, Mushkin) is gonna run around $30. I would encourage the lowest end of the PC Power and Cooling supplies (white, modular series) or another good one in the 400W range with good reviews and a solid warranty. I'd spend a bit more for a WD Black Edition drive, not for the performance, but for the warranty, or spend less, but set her up with automatic backup, possibly even a WD Live drive, for network, or any external that will auto backup for her... SSD is so not worth it. Sounds good but what are your impressions of the APU + mobo and the future potential of an optional gfx card? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator IAmNumbaOne Posted April 16, 2012 Administrator Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 This is a computer I recommended for a friend about a year ago. It serves its primary function very well (shared business computer) and as far as I know he has no complaints (Case is kind of lame though). Considering current RAM prices I would agree that you may as well get 8GB. Leaving the option for a future GPU upgrade seems reasonable - especially if no gaming yet. When you're selecting your PSU, be sure to take into consideration the potential addition of a GPU later. IIRC, $10-20 gets you an extra 100-200 watts and less of a headache down the road. Quick thoughts of components on this list: Case - Sucks for the price Mobo - Works fine PSU - Probably overkill for this setup CPU - Spend the extra $10 for the better version RAM - Get 8GB Optical - Works OS - Not much choice Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, come with Five Fans, window side panel, top HDD dock Model #:BlackHawk Item #:N82E16811147107 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock Note (Add) $99.99 -$10.00 Instant $89.99 ASUS F1A75-V PRO FM1 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS Model #:F1A75-V PRO Item #:N82E16813131765 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock Mail in Rebate Card Note (Add) $119.99 -$5.00 Instant $114.99 CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core ... Model #:CMPSU-650TX Item #:N82E16817139005 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock Note (Add) $119.99 -$10.00 Instant $109.99 AMD A8-3850 Llano 2.9GHz Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 6550D AD3850WNGXBOX Model #:AD3850WNGXBOX Item #:N82E16819103942 Return Policy:CPU Replacement Only Return Policy In Stock Note (Add) $129.99 $129.99 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL Model #:F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL Item #:N82E16820231277 Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy In Stock Note (Add) $29.99 $29.99 Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive Model #:WD1002FAEX Item #:N82E16822136533 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock Note (Add) $149.99 -$10.00 Instant $139.99 ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM Model #:DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Item #:N82E16827135204 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock Note (Add) $18.99 $18.99 Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM Model #:FQC-04649 Item #:N82E16832116992 Return Policy:Software Standard Return Policy In Stock Note (Add) $139.99 $139.99 Subtotal: $773.92 This is another build that I did. The lady who wanted it was quite vague on the purpose so this probably ended up being major overkill. She is happy and the setup is nice so I guess I really don't care that it probably cost $300-400 more then what was required... COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Model #:CAC-T05-UW Item #:N82E16811119068 Out Of Stock Note (Add) ASUS P8Z68-V LE LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS Model #:P8Z68-V LE Item #:N82E16813131773 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock Note (Add) $137.99 -$5.00 Instant $132.99 SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity Model #:100315L Item #:N82E16814102908 Return Policy:VGA Standard Return Policy In Stock Mail in Rebate Card Note (Add) $149.99 $149.99 Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive Model #:WD1002FAEX Item #:N82E16822136533 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock Note (Add) $149.99 -$10.00 Instant $139.99 CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power ... Model #:CMPSU-750TXV2 Item #:N82E16817139021 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock Mail in Rebate Card Note (Add) $139.99 -$35.00 Instant $104.99 Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ... Model #:BX80623I52500K Item #:N82E16819115072 Return Policy:Iron Egg Replacement-Only Return Policy In Stock Note (Add) $219.99 $219.99 G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL Model #:F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL Item #:N82E16820231428 Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy In Stock Note (Add) $46.99 $46.99 ASUS VH226H Black 21.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor Model #:VH226H Item #:N82E16824236051 Out Of Stock Note (Add) ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM Model #:DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Item #:N82E16827135204 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock Note (Add) $18.99 $18.99 Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM Model #:FQC-04649 Item #:N82E16832116992 Return Policy:Software Standard Return Policy In Stock Note (Add) $139.99 $139.99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooncaller Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Short of gaming, it should do fine, probably even handle 1080p output as a HTPC. I think the APUs are solid, and with the option to upgrade and Crossfire in the future, or just use a more powerful card exists. I like the idea of the APU for a basic home machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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